The Changing Arena of Latin Jazz

Herb Alpert - When most people think of Latin Jazz, a salsa dance party comes to mind, with hot dance rhythms charging behind jazz harmonies and improvised solos. This is really taking care of with this style - musicians like Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Cal Tjader, and Ray Barretto have gotten people about the party area for many years with jazz and Cuban rhythms.

Dance rhythms certainly hold a spot in modern Latin Jazz, but a growing number of artists have abandoned the party area for various cultural and artistic influences. Nowadays, many Latin Jazz musicians integrate rhythmic traditions from a broader spectrum from the Caribbean and South usa, often blending cultural elements with modern jazz influences.

Trumpet - Traditional Afro-Peruvian rhythms have played a large part in the increase of Latin Jazz, bringing rhythmic styles like the festejo and landó in to the style as well a far more guitar heavy approach. Guitarist Richie Zellon has combined these traditions with jazz harmonies extensively while trumpet player Gabriel Alegria has evolved a unique approach together with his Afro-Peruvian Sextet.

While stateside Latin Jazz always carried a Puerto Rican influence, it has only been that artists have put a distinct emphasis upon the concept of traditional rhythms like bomba and plena supporting jazz contexts. Trombonist Papo Vazquez provides his ferocious command of bebop over Puerto Rican rhythms while saxophonist Miguel Zenón has dived deep into plena and classic Puerto Rican songs like a foundation for jazz.

Argentina has long been known for it's passionate tango, and many musicians have realized that music can be a natural fit for jazz. Bassist Pablo Aslan has generated a definite language for improvising around tango structures while pianist Pablo Ziegler has continued the work of influential composer Astor Piazzolla using a distinct jazz twist.

Listeners often think about the lush bossa novas of Antonio Carlos Jobim after they think about the mixture of Brazilian rhythms and jazz, nevertheless the style has grown into something much more dynamic. Pianist Jovino Santos Neto has generated upon his long tenure with composer Hermeto Pascoal and developed a highly creative repertoire of original Brazilian jazz while drummer Duduka Da Fonseca has blended the freedom behind a New York jazz sensibility with dynamic samba rhythms.

Grammy awards - The party area is certainly still an integral part of Latin Jazz - just listen to the music activity of Poncho Sanchez or Pete Escovedo for any healthy dose of danceable jazz. The style has certainly expanded artistically, reflecting an even more encompassing spectrum of Latin traditions and giving listeners a more diverse experience.